Data recording program, information recording medium, data recording terminal, data recording system, and data recording method

ABSTRACT

It is possible to prevent fraudulent recording of data because a check is made as to whether or not the information recording medium  9  was purchased correctly at the cash register  5 , and because the information recording media  9  in which has been recorded the write disable information indicating that the writing of data in it has been prohibited are stacked on a shop shelf  4 , and a section is provided in the cash register  5  for recording in the information recording medium  9  the write disable release information indicating that the disabling of the writing of data has been released, and because in the data recording terminal  3  is provided, at least, a data recording section that prohibits the writing of data in the information recording medium  9  in which the write disable information has been written and also permits the writing of data in the information recording medium  9  in which the write disable release information has been written.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to data recording programs as well asinformation recording media, data recording terminals, data recordingsystems, and data recording methods, and in particular to, a datarecording program along with information recording medium, datarecording terminal, data recording system, and data recording method forrecording or backing up the image data of photographs taken usingphotographing equipment such as digital cameras.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, along with the proliferation of photographing equipmentsuch as digital cameras or mobile telephones with cameras, the number ofconsumers using the images of photographs as digital data is increasing.In digital cameras or mobile telephones with cameras, the images ofphotographs are recorded either in a recording section built in to theequipment or in various types of storage media that can be inserted intoor removed from the equipment, and although the images of photographscan be viewed using the display section of the equipment, since the datasize of images of photographs is large and since the storage capacity ofthe storage section incorporated into the equipment or of the removablestorage medium is not quite large, it is necessary for customers takingphotographs very frequently to store the image data of photographs in aseparate storage section or storage medium.

In view of this, in the case of a user familiar with operating apersonal computer (PC), it is possible to accumulate the image data in aPC by reading in the image data after inserting into the slot of the PCthe different types of media mounted in a digital camera, or bytransferring the image data of the photographed pictures to the PC afterconnecting to it the digital camera or the mobile telephone with camera,and thereafter it is possible to display and view the image data usingapplication programs installed beforehand in the PC.

However, for users who are not familiar with operating a PC, theoperations of reading in image data from digital cameras, mobiletelephones with cameras, or from various types of media is not easy. Inview of this, it is desirable to have a method of backing up image dataof photographs without using a PC, and, for example, in Japanese PatentPublication Open to Public Inspection No. No. 2002-185896, a method ofand system for data processing service has been disclosed that makes itpossible to back up very easily the image data of photographs takenusing a digital camera.

According to the above disclosure, for the problems that since thecapacity of the recording media built into or provided as accessory to acompact and lightweight digital camera is about 8 to 16 Mbytes and sincethe data size becomes nearly 1 Mbytes for an image photographed in thehigh image quality mode it is possible to photograph at best tenphotographs using such a medium and also that it is not possible to buya number of spare recording media because they were costly, a method ofsolving the problems has been disclosed for providing the service ofbacking up image data using a service terminal installed in a shop whichmethod comprises a step of reading photographed image data stored in thememory of the customer's digital camera and a step of storing the readin photographed image data in a recording medium that the customer canaccess.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public InspectionNo. 2002-185896 (page 3 to 7, FIG. 1)

Using the method disclosed in the above official publication, even whena compact and lightweight digital camera with a capacity of a relativelysmall number of photographs is used, by taking the digital camera to ashop with a service terminal it is possible to store the image data ofthe digital camera without having to buy expensive recording media andhence it is possible to use a compact and lightweight digital camerawithout thinking about the size of the photographed image data or thetediousness of saving or printing such data. However, this method hadthe following problems.

In other words, when using such a service terminal, the ID of thedigital camera is recorded in the recording medium (an MO disk in theabove disclosure) for backing up the image data, and it is necessary tocarry this MO disk along with the digital camera at all times, and also,in case the user forgets to take this MO disk, it will not be possibleto use the service terminal.

In addition, although there is the method of selling the recording mediafor backing up in the shop in which the service terminal has beeninstalled (such as DPE shop, a convenience store, or a train stationshop, etc.,), since it is not possible to distinguish whether therecording medium inserted into the service terminal is the one that hasbeen bought at the shop or one that has been brought by the customer, oris one that the customer has shoplifted from the store shelf withoutpaying for it at the cash register, it is possible that fraudulentbacking is done, and hence the load on the shop employees increases formonitoring whether or not such fraudulent backing up is being made.

SUMMARY

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems andits main purpose is to provide a data recording program as well asinformation recording medium, a data recording terminal, a datarecording system, and a data recording method that make it possible tocheck easily whether or not information recording medium inserted intothe data recording terminal is a legally purchased one.

In order to achieve the above objective, the data recording programaccording to the present invention causes the computer to function as asection for extracting from the information recording medium the writeenable information indicating that writing of data has been permitted,and a data writing section that permits the writing of data for theinformation recording medium in which the write enable information hasbeen written.

In addition, the data recording program according to the presentinvention causes the computer to function as a section for extractingfrom the information recording medium the write disable informationindicating that writing of data has been prohibited, as a section forextracting from the information recording medium the write disablerelease information indicating that disabling of writing of data hasbeen released, and a data writing section that disables the writing ofdata for the information recording medium in which the write disableinformation has been written and also permits the writing of data forthe information recording medium in which the write disable releaseinformation has been written.

Further, the information recording medium according to the presentinvention is one in which have been recorded the write disableinformation indicating that writing of data has been prohibited or thewrite enable information indicating that writing of data has beenpermitted.

Still further, the information recording medium according to the presentinvention is one in which have been recorded the write disableinformation indicating that writing of data has been prohibited or thewrite disable release information indicating that the disabling ofwriting of data has been released.

Furthermore, the data recording terminal according to the presentinvention is a data recording terminal that records the data recorded inan equipment or in a first information recording medium into a secondinformation recording medium, and has the feature that it comprises atleast a section for reading out the data from either the equipment orthe first information recording medium, a section for extracting fromthe second information recording medium the write enable informationindicating that writing of data has been permitted, a section forextracting from the second information recording medium the writedisable release information indicating that disabling of writing of datahas been released, and a data writing section that permits the writingof data in the second information recording medium in which the writeenable information has been written.

In addition, the data recoding terminal according to the presentinvention is a data recording terminal that records the data recorded inan equipment or a first information recording medium into a secondinformation recording medium, and has the feature that it comprises atleast a section for reading out the data from either the equipment orthe first information recording medium, a section for extracting fromthe second information recording medium the write disable informationindicating that the writing of data has been prohibited, a section forextracting from the second information recording medium the writedisable release information indicating that disabling of writing of datahas been released, and a data writing section that prohibits the writingof data in the second information recording medium in which the writedisable information has been written and also permits the writing ofdata in the second information recording medium in which the writedisable release information has been written.

In the present invention, it is desirable that the equipment is adigital camera or a mobile telephone with camera, the first informationrecording medium is an information recording medium that can be insertedinto and removed from the equipment, and that the data is image data ofphotographs taken using the equipment.

Furthermore, the data recording system according to the presentinvention comprises at least a write enable information recordingsection that records in the information recording medium the writeenable information indicating that data writing has been permitted, anda data writing section that enables the writing of data in theinformation recording medium in which the write enable information hasbeen recorded.

In addition, the data recording system according to the presentinvention comprises at least an information recording medium in which isrecorded the write disable information indicating that data writing init has been prohibited, a write disable release information recordingsection that records in the information recording medium the writedisable release information indicating the disabling of writing due tothe write disable information has been released, and a data writingsection that prohibits the writing of data in the information recordingmedium in which the write disable information has been recorded and alsopermits the writing of data in the information recording medium in whichthe write disable release information has been recorded.

Further, the data recording method according to the present invention isa data recording method of recording the data recorded in an equipmentor in a first information recording medium brought by the customer intoa second information recording medium that the customer has purchased,and comprises at least a step of recording in the second informationrecording medium purchased by the customer the write enable informationindicating that the writing of data in it has been permitted, a step ina data recording terminal of extracting the write enable informationfrom the second information recording medium, and when the write enableinformation has been recorded, a step of reading out the data recordedin the equipment or in the first information recording medium andwriting it in the second information recording medium.

Still further, the data recording method according to the presentinvention is a data recording method of recording the data recorded inan equipment or in a first information recording medium brought by thecustomer into a second information recording medium that the customerhas purchased, and comprises at least a step of exhibiting on shopshelves information recording media in which write disable informationhas been recorded indicating that the writing of data in them has beenprohibited, a step of recording in the second information recordingmedium the write disable release information indicating that thedisabling of writing due to the write disable information in the secondinformation recording medium purchased by the customer has beenreleased, a step in a data recording terminal of extracting the writedisable information from the second information recording medium, a stepof extracting the write disable release information from the secondinformation recording medium, a step of making the decision to prohibitthe writing of data in the second information recording medium if thewrite disable information has been recorded in it or to permit thewriting of data if the write disable release information has beenrecorded in it, and a step of reading out the data recorded in theequipment or in the first information recording medium and writing it inthe second information recording medium based on the decision ofprohibiting or permitting the writing of data in it.

As has been explained above, according to the configuration of thepresent invention, when the customer properly purchases the informationrecording medium for recording the image data, by recording the writeenable information in the information recording medium indicating thatthe writing of data in to that information recording medium has beenpermitted, and by referring to the write enable information in the datarecording terminal, it is easily possible to distinguish the informationrecording medium that does not have recorded in it the write enableinformation such as an information recording medium that has beenbrought along by the customer or that has been fraudulently picked up bythe customer from the shop shelf, and hence it is possible to preventeasily and without fail fraudulent data recording.

Further, after writing beforehand the write disable information in theinformation recording medium indicating that writing of data in to thatinformation recording medium is prohibited and also by writing the writedisable release information in an information recording medium that hasbeen correctly purchased indicating that the write disable of thatmedium has been released, by referring to the write disable informationand the write disable release information in the data recordingterminal, it is possible to distinguish easily an information recordingmedium that does not have recorded in it both the write disableinformation and the write disable release information such as aninformation recording medium that has been brought along by the customeror an information recording medium that has recorded in it only thewrite disable information such as a medium that has been fraudulentlypicked up by the customer from the shop shelf, and hence it is possibleto prevent easily and without fail fraudulent data recording.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1: This is a diagram showing schematically the configuration of thedata recording system according to a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2: This is a block diagram showing the functions of the datarecording terminal according to the first preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3: This is a flow chart showing the procedure of recording the dataaccording to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4: This is a diagram showing schematically the configuration of thedata recording system according to the second preferred embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 5: This is a block diagram showing the functions of the datarecording terminal according to the second preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6: This is a flow chart showing the procedure of recording the dataaccording to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7: This is a diagram showing schematically the configuration of thedata recording terminal according to the third preferred embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 8: This is a block diagram showing the functions of the datarecording terminal according to the third preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 9: This is a flow chart showing the procedure of recording the dataaccording to the third preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10: This is a diagram showing schematically another configurationof the data recording system according to the present invention.

FIG. 11: This is a diagram showing schematically another configurationof the data recording system according to the present invention.

FIG. 12: This is a diagram showing schematically another configurationof the data recording system according to the present invention.

FIG. 13: This is a diagram showing schematically yet anotherconfiguration of the data recording system according to the presentinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The data recording system according to a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention is one in which a plurality of information recordingmedia having recorded in them the write disable information indicatingthat writing of data in to them has been prohibited are stacked on theshop shelf, the cash register is equipped with a section for recordinginto the information recording media the write disable releaseinformation indicating that the write disabling of the media due to thewrite disable information has been released, and since the datarecording terminal is provided with at least a data writing section thatprohibits the writing of data to an information recording medium inwhich is recorded only the write disable information and permits thewriting of data to an information recording medium in which are recordedboth the write disable information and the write disable releaseinformation, and since the information recording medium inserted intothe data recording terminal is checked automatically as to whether ornot that information recording medium was one that has been purchasedlegally at the cash register, it is possible to prevent fraudulentrecording of data. In addition, because it is possible to record imagedata without having to use a personal computer, it is possible topromote taking photographs using a digital camera, etc., and to enlargethe use of various types of services using image data.

Further detailed explanations of some preferred embodiments of thepresent invention described above are given in the following paragraphswhile referring to the drawings.

Preferred Embodiment 1

To begin with, the data recording program along with informationrecording medium,. data recording terminal, data recording system, anddata recording method according to the first preferred embodiment of thepresent invention are explained below while referring to FIG. 1 to FIG.3 and FIG. 10 to FIG. 13. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing schematically theconfiguration of the data recording system according to the presentpreferred embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing thefunctions of the data recording terminal. Further, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure of recording the data, and FIG. 10 to FIG.13 are diagrams showing schematically other configurations of the datarecording system according to the present preferred embodiment. Inaddition, the present preferred embodiment has the feature thatfraudulent data recording is prevented using only the write enableinformation.

As is shown in FIG. 1, the data recording system 1 in the presentpreferred embodiment is one that is installed in a convenience store ora photo service shop such as a minilab, etc., and comprises a datarecording terminal 3 that records the image data in a medium 6 that hasthe image data of photographs recorded therein, such as a Smart Media,Compact Flash®, Memory Stick®, SD Memory Card, and Multimedia Card,etc., (here, the information recording media used in digital cameras,etc., are called simply the ‘media’) or the image data recorded inphotographing equipment photographing pictures such as digital camerasor mobile telephones with cameras (hereinafter, all digital equipmentprovided with camera functions are comprehensively called ‘photographingequipment’) into another information recording medium 9 such as aCD-R/RW disk, a DVD±R/RW disk, a DVD-RAM disk, a Blu-ray disk, or an MOdisk, etc., a shop shelf 4 on which are stacked the informationrecording media 9, and the cash register 5 for selling to the customersthe information recording media 9 after recording in them the writeenable information indicating that data writing into that informationrecording media 9 has been permitted. In addition, the data recordingterminal 3 is provided with a media slot 3 a for reading out image datafrom various types of media 6 brought in by the customer, the connectionpins 3 b for connecting the photographing equipment such as digitalcameras or mobile telephones with cameras 8, etc., and a drive (such asa CD-R drive 3 c) for writing the image data read out from these media 6or from the photographing equipment into the information recording media9 such as a CD-R/RW disk, a DVD±R/RW disk, a DVD-RAM disk, a Blu-raydisk, or an MO disk, etc.

When explained in terms of its functions, this data recording terminal 3becomes as shown in FIG. 2 and is provided with a data reading section12 that reads in image data from a media 6 or from a photographingequipment, a write enable information extracting section 13 thatextracts the write enable information from an information recordingmedium 9, and a data writing section 14 that writes, after referring tothe write enable information, the image data read in from a media 6 orfrom a photographing equipment into the information recording medium 9.In addition, if necessary, it is also possible to provide a displaysection 10 or an operation section 11 that is used for givinginstructions regarding the data recording operations, and a dataconversion section 15 that converts the format, name, or size, etc., ofthe image data read in from the media 6 or from the photographingequipment according to the wishes of the customer or to suit the photoservice. Further, each of the above section can be configured ashardware, or else, it is also possible to configure each of thesesection by installing in the data recording terminal 3 a data recordingprogram that makes the computer function, at least, as the write enableinformation extracting section 13 and the data writing section 14. Inaddition, although in FIG. 1 a kiosk type data recording terminal 3 hasbeen shown that can be installed in the shop site of a photo shop or aconvenience store, the form of the data recording terminal 3 can be anything, and, for example, it is possible to make this have a form such asa desk-top type shop-counter terminal as shown in FIG. 10, or can be aPC in which the above software (data recording program) is installed asshown in FIG. 11, or can be a dedicated set-top box as shown in FIG. 12,or can be configured as a portable writer as shown in FIG. 13, and canalso be a DVD recorder, etc., that is provided with a storage section ora computing section.

Using a data recording terminal 3 having the above configuration, theprocedure of recording the image data read from the media 6 or thephotographing equipment brought in by the customer in the informationrecording medium 9 is described here referring to the flow chart shownin FIG. 3. However, although in the explanation given below, the data tobe recorded in the information recording medium 9 is taken to be imagedata based on photographs photographed using a digital camera 7 or amobile telephone with camera 8, it is not necessary that the image databe limited to that based on photographs but can be moving picture dataor voice data, or can also be some data obtained through the internet.

To start with, in Step S101, the customer brings a medium 6 or aphotographing equipment in which image data has been recorded to thedata recording shop 2 such as a convenience store or a photo shop inwhich a data recording terminal 3 has been installed. Although here theconfiguration is such that in the same data recording shop 2 areinstalled a data recording terminal 3, a store shelf 4, and a cashregister 5, it is not necessary that all these are installed within thesame shop, and it is possible, for example, to carry out data recordingusing a data recording terminal installed in one using an informationrecording medium 9 purchased legally in another shop.

Next, in Step S102, the customer chooses an information recording medium9 from the media stacked on the store shelf 4. Further, it is enoughthat this information recording medium 9 is a medium having enoughstorage capacity to record the image data recorded in the media 6 or inthe photographing equipment, and although it is possible to use anyrecording medium such as a CD-R/RW disk, a DVD±R/RW disk, a DVD-RAMdisk, a Blu-ray disk, or an MO disk, etc., if we consider that the imagedata recorded in the information recording medium 9 is to be used in acomputer terminal such as a PC, it is desirable that the media is onethat can be read out generally in a common PC. In the following, theexplanations are given assuming that the information recording medium 9is a CD-R disk.

In addition, since the information recording media 9 stacked on thestore shelf 4 are different from the common information media in whichno information has been recorded (called a blank CD-R disk) in that theyare sold after adding the price for data recording, it is desirable thatthey can be distinguished from a blank CD-R, and it is possible, forexample, that their added value is increased by providing a specificdesign print on the surface of the CD-R.

Next, in Step S103, when the customer purchases the informationrecording medium 9 by paying a specific price at the cash register, inStep S104, the shop attendant of the data recording shop 2 inserts theinformation recording medium 9 purchased by the customer into thecomputer terminal 5 a, operates the computer terminal 5 a therebywriting in the information recording medium 9 the write enableinformation indicating that writing data in it has been enabled. Thecontent of this write enable information is not particularly limited andit is possible to have a configuration of this information so that thedata indicating that writing is enabled (copy authorization key) orfiles are stored in a specific area of the information recording medium9, or else the write enable condition is distinguished by the fact thata specific data or file has not been recorded in a specific area of theinformation recording medium 9. In addition, it is possible to affix asecond information recording medium that can be written into or read outfrom by wireless section on the information recording medium, and thewrite enable information is recorded in this second informationrecording medium. Further, it is desirable that the write enableinformation has been processed so that it cannot be copied easily by thecustomer. For example, it is possible to prevent fraudulent copying byrecording the write enable information in an area that cannot beaccessed by the OS of the PC (that is, outside the logical addressarea), in concrete terms, by writing in the area on the inside of thelogical address area of a disk-type recording media.

Next, in Step S105, the customer who has bought the informationrecording medium 9 legally inserts the media 6 in the media slot 3 a ofthe data recording terminal 3 (or connects the digital camera 7 or themobile telephone with camera 8 to the connecting pins 3 b, or both) andalso inserts the information recording medium 9 in the CD-R drive 3 c ofthe data recording terminal 3. Further, although in FIG. 1 the mediaslot 3 a has been taken to be an all-in-one type of media slot that canread various types of media 6, it is also possible to have aconfiguration in which a plurality of media slots are providedcorresponding to different types of media 6. In addition, although theCD-R drive 3 c is provided because the information recording medium 9 istaken to be a CD-R disk in the present preferred embodiment, it ispossible to provide drives such as a DVD drive or an MO drive dependingon the type of the information recording medium 9 when a DVD-R or an MOdisk is to be used instead of a CD-R disk.

Next, in Step S106, the data recording terminal 3 searches for the writeenable information from the information recording medium 9 (searches forthe data or file corresponding to the write enable information) usingthe write enable information extracting section 13. If the write enableinformation has not been recorded in the information recording medium 9(Step S107), it is judged that a fraudulent information recording mediumhas been inserted, the information recording medium is ejected and theprocessing is terminated in Step S110.

Further, if the write enable information has been recorded in theinformation recording medium 9 (Step S107), the image data recorded inthe medium 6 or the image data recorded in the photographing equipmentis read out in Step S108 using the data reading section 12. Here, theconfiguration can be such that either all or a part of the image datarecorded in the medium 6 or in the photographing equipment are writteninto the information recording medium 9. If only the selected image datais to be written, the selection of the image data is carried out usingthe display section 10 and the operation section 11.

Here, as a method of preventing fraudulent data recording in the presentpreferred embodiment, although the use of an information recordingmedium 9 brought in by the customer is prevented by having aconfiguration in which a write enable information is recorded in themedium at the cash register, it is also possible to sell informationrecording media 9 in which the write enable information has already beenwritten, or to affix an IC tag, etc., at the time of selling theinformation recording medium 9 at the cash register.

Next, in Step S109, the read out image data is copied on to theinformation recording medium 9 using the data writing section 14. Here,it is possible to have a configuration in which the image data that hasbeen read out is recorded as it is in the information recording medium9, or else, since the image data from a digital camera 7 is usuallystored in a format that is unique for digital cameras, very often it isnot possible for the data to be read as it is by a PC, and also due tothe improvements in performance of digital cameras in the recent years,the sizes of the individual image data has become large and it isdifficult to use the data as it is because the data size is too large.

In this context, for example, it is possible to have a configuration inwhich a data conversion section 15 is provided in the data recordingterminal 3, the formats unique to different types of digital cameras areconverted into a commonly used format (for example, jpeg, etc.,),converting the number of pixels of the image data to a size that is easyto use in a PC or for photo service, and in the converted image data (orboth the original image data and the converted image data) is recordedin the information recording medium 9. Also, since the file nameassigned beforehand to the image data can conflict with the file nameused for recording when reading image data from a plurality of media 6or from media 6 and photographing equipment, it is possible to have aconfiguration in which the file name of the image data is renamedautomatically by the data conversion section 15.

Thereafter, in Step S110, the information recording medium 9 in whichthe image data has been recorded is ejected and the data recordingprocess is terminated.

In this manner, according to the data recording program as well as theinformation recording medium, the data recording terminal 3, the datarecording system 1, and the data recording method, by having aconfiguration in which, when backing up the image data recorded in themedia 6 or in the photographing equipment brought in by the customer ina different information recording medium 9, the write enable informationis recorded in the information recording medium 9 at the time thecustomer buys an information recording medium 9 stacked on the shopshelf 4 at the cash register, and the writing of data is permitted bythe data recording terminal 3 only when the write enable information hasbeen recorded in the information recording medium 9, it is possible toprevent the fraudulent use of an information recording medium that hasbeen brought by the customer or has been taken from the shop shelfwithout passing through the cash register.

Preferred Embodiment 2

Next, the data recording program along with information recordingmedium, data recording terminal, data recording system, and datarecording method according to the second preferred embodiment of thepresent invention are explained below while referring to FIG. 4 to FIG.6. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing schematically the configuration of thedata recording system according to the present preferred embodiment, andFIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the functions of the data recordingterminal. Further, FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the procedure ofrecording the data. In addition, the present preferred embodiment hasthe feature that fraudulent data recording is prevented using acombination of the write disable information and the write disablerelease information.

As is shown in FIG. 4, the data recording system 1 in the presentpreferred embodiment is one that is installed in a convenience store ora photo service shop such as a minilab, etc., and comprises a datarecording terminal 3 that records the image data in various types ofmedia or the image data recorded in photographing equipment such asdigital cameras or mobile telephones with cameras into anotherinformation recording medium 9 such as a CD-R/RW disk, a DVD±R/RW disk,a DVD-RAM disk, a Blu-ray disk, or an MO disk, etc., (in the followingthe explanation are given assuming this to be a CD-R disk as in thefirst preferred embodiment), a shop shelf 4 on which are stacked theinformation recording media 9 in which are recorded beforehand the writedisable information, and the cash register 5 for selling to thecustomers the information recording media 9 after recording in them thewrite disable release information indicating that data write disablingfor that information recording media 9 has been released.

When explained in terms of its functions, this data recording terminal 3becomes as shown in FIG. 5 and is provided with a data reading section12 that reads in image data from a media 6 or from a photographingequipment, a write disable information extracting section 16 thatextracts the write disable information from an information recordingmedium 9, a write disable release information extracting section 17 thatextracts the write disable release information from an informationrecording medium 9, and a data writing section 14 that writes, afterreferring to the write disable information and the write disable releaseinformation, the image data read in from a media 6 or from aphotographing equipment into the information recording medium 9. Inaddition, if necessary, it is also possible to provide a display section10 or an operation section 11 that is used for giving instructionsregarding the data recording operations, and a data conversion section15 that converts the format, name, or size, etc., of the image data readin from the media 6 or from the photographing equipment according to thewishes of the customer or to suit the photo service. Further, as in thefirst preferred embodiment, each of the above section can be configuredas hardware, or else, it is also possible to configure each of thesesection by installing in the data recording terminal 3 a data recordingprogram that makes the computer function, at least, as the write disableinformation extracting section 16, a write disable release informationextracting section 17, and the data writing section 14. In addition, asin the first preferred embodiment, the form of the data recordingterminal 3 can be any thing, and it is possible to use instead of akiosk type data recording terminal 3 a desk-top type shop-counterterminal, or can be a PC in which the above software (data recordingprogram) is installed, or can be a dedicated set-top box, or can beconfigured as a portable writer, and can also be a DVD recorder, etc.,that is provided with a storage section or a computing section.

In a data recording system of the above configuration, the procedure ofrecording the image data read out from a medium 6 or from aphotographing equipment brought by the customer into an informationrecording medium 9 is explained here referring to the flow chart shownin FIG. 6.

To start with, in Step S201, the customer brings a medium 6 or aphotographing equipment in which image data has been recorded to thedata recording shop 2 such as a convenience store or a photo shop inwhich a data recording terminal 3 has been installed, and in Step S202,the customer chooses an information recording medium 9 from the mediastacked on the store shelf 4 such as CD-Rs, etc. In the case of thepresent preferred embodiment, the information recording medium 9 hasrecorded in it beforehand the write disable information indicating thatwriting information into that disk has been disabled. Also, the contentof this write disable information is not particularly limited and it ispossible to have a configuration of this information so that the dataindicating that writing is disabled or files are stored in a specificarea of the information recording medium 9, or else the write disablecondition is distinguished by the fact that a specific data or file hasnot been recorded in a specific area of the information recording medium9. Further, it is desirable that the write disable information has beenprocessed so that it cannot be copied easily by the customer. Inaddition, it is desirable that the information recording media 9 stackedon the store shelf 4 have their added value increased by providing aspecific design print on the surface of the CD-R.

Next, in Step S203, when the customer purchases the informationrecording medium 9 by paying a specific price at the cash register, inStep S204, the shop attendant of the data recording shop 2 inserts theinformation recording medium 9 purchased by the customer into thecomputer terminal 5 a, operates the computer terminal 5 a therebywriting in the information recording medium 9 the write disable releaseinformation indicating that the write disable state has been released.The content of this write disable release information is notparticularly limited similar to the write disable information and it ispossible to have a configuration of this information so that the data orfiles indicating that the write disable state has been released arestored in a specific area of the information recording medium 9, orelse, the write disable release condition is distinguished by the factthat a specific data or file has not been recorded in a specific area ofthe information recording medium 9. Further, it is desirable that thewrite disable release information has been processed so that it cannotbe copied easily by the customer. For example, it is possible to preventfraudulent copying by recording the write disable release information inan area outside the logical address area that cannot be accessed by theOS of the PC, in concrete terms, by writing in the area on the inside ofthe logical address area of a disk-type recording media.

Next, in Step S205, the customer who has bought the informationrecording medium 9 legally inserts the media 6 in the media slot 3 a ofthe data recording terminal 3 (or connects the digital camera 7 or themobile telephone with camera 8 to the connecting pins 3 b, or both) andalso inserts the information recording medium 9 in the CD-R drive 3 c ofthe data recording terminal 3.

Next, in Step S206, the data recording terminal 3 searches for the writedisable information from the information recording medium 9 (searchesfor the data or file corresponding to the write disable information)using the write disable information extracting section 16. If the writedisable information has been recorded in the information recordingmedium 9 (Step S207), in Step S208, in a similar manner the writedisable release information is searched from the information recordingmedium 9 (searches for the data or file corresponding to the writedisable release information) using the write disable release informationextracting section 17. Also, if the write disable information has notbeen recorded in the information recording medium 9 in Step 207, it isjudged that a fraudulent information recording medium has been inserted,the information recording medium is ejected and the processing isterminated in Step S212.

Further, if the write disable release information has been recorded inthe information recording medium 9 (Step S209), in Step S210, the imagedata recorded in the medium 6 or the image data recorded in thephotographing equipment is read out using the data reading section 12.Also, if the write disable release information has not been recorded inthe information recording medium 9 in Step 209, it is judged that afraudulent information recording medium has been inserted, theinformation recording medium is ejected and the processing is terminatedin Step S212. Here, the configuration can be such that either all or apart of the image data recorded in the medium 6 or in the photographingequipment are written into the information recording medium 9, and ifonly the selected image data is to be written, the selection of theimage data is carried out using the display section 10 and the operationsection 11.

Here, as a method of preventing fraudulent data recording, although inthe first preferred embodiment, the use of an information recordingmedium 9 brought in by the customer is prevented by having aconfiguration in which a write enable information is recorded at thecash register in the information recording medium in which no data hasbeen written, in the configuration of the first preferred embodiment itis not possible to distinguish between a blank CD-R and an informationrecording medium 9 that is placed on the shop shelf. In contrast withthis, since the configuration in the present preferred embodiment issuch that the write disable information is written beforehand in theinformation recording media 9 before they are put on the shop shelf, andthe write disable release information is written into the informationrecording medium 9 at the cash register 5, it is possible to distinguishbetween the information recording media 9 stored on the shop shelf and ablank CD-R thereby increasing the added value.

Next, in Step S211, the read out image data is copied on to theinformation recording medium 9 using the data writing section 14. Atthis time, similar to the first preferred embodiment, it is possible tohave a configuration in which a data conversion section 15 is providedin the data recording terminal 3, the formats unique to different typesof digital cameras are converted into a commonly used standardizedformat, converting the number of pixels of the image data to a size thatis easy to use in a PC or for photo service, the file name of the imagedata is renamed automatically, and the converted image data (or both theoriginal image data and the converted image data) is recorded in theinformation recording medium 9.

Thereafter, in Step S212, the information recording medium 9 is ejectedand the processing is terminated.

In this manner, according to the data recording program as well as theinformation recording medium, the data recording terminal 3, the datarecording system 1, and the data recording method, by having aconfiguration in which, when backing up the image data recorded in themedia 6 or in the photographing equipment brought in by the customer ina different information recording medium 9, the information recordingmedia 9 in which the write disable information has been recordedbeforehand are kept on the shop shelf, the write disable releaseinformation is recorded at the cash register in the informationrecording medium 9 at the time the customer buys an informationrecording medium 9 stacked on the shop shelf 4, and the writing of datais permitted by the data recording terminal 3 only when both the writedisable information and the write disable release information have beenrecorded in the information recording medium 9, it is possible toprevent the fraudulent use of an information recording medium that hasbeen brought by the customer or has been taken from the shop shelfwithout passing through the cash register.

Preferred Embodiment 3

Next, the data recording program along with information recordingmedium, data recording terminal, data recording system, and datarecording method according to the third preferred embodiment of thepresent invention are explained below while referring to FIG. 7 to FIG.9. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing schematically the configuration of thedata recording system according to the present preferred embodiment, andFIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the functions of the data recordingterminal. Further, FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the procedure ofrecording the data. In addition, the present preferred embodiment hasthe feature that the information recording medium 9 is sold at the datarecording terminal 3, and the configurations of all other parts isidentical to that of the first preferred embodiment.

As is shown in FIG. 7, the data recording terminal 3 in the presentpreferred embodiment is provided with the function of selling theinformation recording medium 9 in which the data is to be written, andof recording, based on the write enable information, the image data invarious types of media 6 or the image data recorded in photographingequipment such as digital cameras or mobile telephones with cameras 8into another information recording medium 9 such as a CD-R/RW disk, aDVD±R/RW disk, a DVD-RAM disk, a Blu-ray disk, or an MO disk, etc.,(this is taken as a CD-R disk in the following).

When explained in terms of its functions, this data recording terminal 3becomes as shown in FIG. 8 and is provided with an information recordingmedium supply section 18 that supplies the information recording media9, a display section 10 and an operation section 11 for carrying outoperations at the time of purchasing the information recording medium 9,a data reading section 12 that reads in image data from a media 6 orfrom a photographing equipment, a write enable information extractingsection 13 that extracts the write enable information from aninformation recording medium 9, and a data writing section 14 thatwrites the image data read in from a media 6 or from a photographingequipment into the information recording medium 9. In addition, theinformation recording medium supply section 18 is provided with abilling section 18 a for collecting money towards the informationrecording medium 9 and information recording media storage section 18 bfor storing the information recording media 9, and, if necessary, it isalso possible to provide a data conversion section 15 that converts theformat, name, or size, etc., of the image data read in from the media 6or from the photographing equipment. Further, as in the first and secondpreferred embodiments, each of the above section can be configured ashardware, or else, it is also possible to configure each of thesesection by installing in the data recording terminal 3 a data recordingprogram that makes the computer function, at least, as the write enableinformation extracting section 13 and the data writing section 14.

Further, in the present invention, since the information recordingmedium supply section 18 is provided in the data recording terminal 3,the shop shelf 4 on which are stacked the information recording media 9and the cash register 5 for selling the information recording media 9 tothe customers in the data recording shop 2 are not necessary. Therefore,in the present preferred embodiment, because it is possible to make thedata recording terminal 3 a non-attended automatic terminal, thelocation of installing the data recording terminal 3 is not limited toconvenience stores or photo shops but the installation can be madeanywhere. In addition, as in the first and second preferred embodiments,the form of the data recording terminal 3 can be any thing, and it ispossible to use instead of a kiosk type data recording terminal 3 adesk-top type shop-counter terminal, or can be a PC in which the abovesoftware (data recording program) is installed, or can be a dedicatedset-top box, or can be configured as a portable writer, and can also bea DVD recorder, etc., that is provided with a storage section or acomputing section.

The procedure of recording the image data read out from a medium 6 orfrom a photographing equipment brought by the customer into aninformation recording medium 9 using a data recording terminal 3 withthe above configuration is explained here referring to the flow chartshown in FIG. 9.

To begin with, in Step S301, the user purchases an information recordingmedium 9 such as a CD-R disk stored inside the data recording terminal 3by utilizing the display section 10 and the operation section 11 of thedata recording terminal 3. In Step S302, the write enable information isrecorded in the information recording medium 9 that has been purchasedand this medium is discharged for the time being from the dischargeoutlet 3 d. In the present preferred embodiment, since the informationrecording medium 9 is stored inside the data recording terminal 3 and itis not possible to take it out fraudulently from a shop shelf 4, theconfiguration can be such that the stored information recording media 9have the write enable information recorded in them beforehand. Inaddition, although it is possible not to discharge temporarily thepurchased information recording medium 9 but to carry out the writing ofimage data in it while the information recording medium 9 is stillinside the data recording terminal 3, it is desirable to temporarilydischarge the purchased information recording medium 9 because it ispossible that no image data is written at that time of purchase of themedium. Further, as in the first and second preferred embodiments, it ispossible to have a configuration in which the write enable informationis written in an area that cannot be accessed by the OS of the PC suchas the area outside the logical address area, in concrete terms, bywriting in the area on the inside of the logical address area of adisk-type recording media.

Next, in Step S303, the customer who has bought the informationrecording medium 9 legally inserts the media 6 in the media slot 3 a ofthe data recording terminal 3 (or connects the digital camera 7 or themobile telephone with camera 8 to the connecting pins 3 b, or both) andalso inserts the information recording medium 9 in the CD-R drive 3 c ofthe data recording terminal 3.

Next, in Step S304, the data recording terminal 3 searches for the writeenable information from the information recording medium 9 (searches forthe data or file corresponding to the write enable information) usingthe write enable information extracting section 13. If the write enableinformation has not been recorded in the information recording medium 9(Step S305), it is judged that a fraudulent information recording mediumhas been inserted, the information recording medium is ejected and theprocessing is terminated in Step S308.

Further, if the write enable information has been recorded in theinformation recording medium 9 (Step S305), the image data recorded inthe medium 6 or the image data recorded in the photographing equipmentis read out in Step S306 using the data reading section 12. Here,similar to the first and second preferred embodiments, the configurationcan be such that either all or only a part of the image data recorded inthe medium 6 or in the photographing equipment are written into theinformation recording medium 9, and if only the selected image data isto be written, the selection of the image data is carried out using thedisplay section 10 and the operation section 11.

Next, in Step S307, the read out image data is copied on to theinformation recording medium 9 using the data writing section 14. Atthis time, similar to the first and second preferred embodiments, forexample, it is possible to have a configuration in which a dataconversion section 15 is provided in the data recording terminal 3, andthe formats unique to different types of digital cameras are convertedinto a commonly used format, converting the number of pixels of theimage data to a size that is easy to use in a PC or for photo service,and, after carrying out the processing such as automatically renamingthe files of the image data, and recording the converted image data (orboth the original image data and the converted image data) in theinformation recording medium 9.

Thereafter, in Step S308, the information recording medium 9 is ejectedand the processing is terminated.

In this manner, according to the data recording program as well as theinformation recording medium, the data recording terminal 3, the datarecording system 1, and the data recording method, by having aconfiguration in which, when backing up the image data recorded in themedia 6 or in the photographing equipment brought in by the customer ina different information recording medium 9, the information recordingmedia 9 are stored inside the data recording terminal and theinformation recording medium 9 purchased by the customer is suppliedafter the writing the write enable information, and the writing of datais permitted by the data recording terminal 3 only when the write enableinformation has been recorded in the information recording medium 9, itis possible, as in the first preferred embodiment, to prevent thefraudulent use of an information recording medium that has been broughtby the customer. Further, in the case of the present preferredembodiment, since the data recording terminal 3 itself is provided witha function of selling the information recording media 9, it is possibleto operate the terminal 3 in a non-attended manner and to obtain theeffect that the data recording terminal 3 can be installed in anylocation.

Further, although in each of the above preferred embodiments, theexplanation was given for the case of recording the image data ofphotographs in another information recording medium, the presentinvention shall not construed to be limited to the above preferredembodiments, and in the present invention can be applied to a program,as well as information recording medium, terminal, system, and method ofrecording the data stored in any equipment or the information recordingmedium in another information recording medium such as, for example, ofrecording music data downloaded using a communication equipment in aminidisk, etc.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As has been explained above, according to the data recording program aswell as the information recording medium, data recording terminal, datarecording system,.and data recording method disclosed in the presentinvention, it is possible to prevent the recording of data using afraudulent information recording medium.

The reason for this is that, it is possible to distinguish theinformation recording media that were either brought in by the customeror were taken out of the shop shelf without passing through the cashregister, by stacking information recording media in the shop shelfinside the shop, recording at the cash register the write enableinformation in the purchased information recording media and permitting,and in the data recording terminal, by permitting the writing of imagedata only in an image recording medium in which the write enableinformation has been recorded.

Further, this is because it is possible, in a similar manner, todistinguish the information recording media that were either brought inby the customer or were taken out of the shop shelf without passingthrough the cash register, even by stacking in the shop shelf inside theshop the information recording media in which a write disableinformation has been recorded beforehand, recording at the cash registerthe write disable release information in the purchased informationrecording medium, and in the data recording terminal, by permitting thewriting of image data only in an image recording medium in which boththe write disable information and the write disable release informationhave been recorded.

Furthermore, this is because it is possible, in a similar manner, todistinguish the information recording media that were brought in by thecustomer, in the case of a data recording terminal provided with thefunction of selling information recording media, by storing beforehandinformation recording media in the data recording terminal and supplyingthe purchased information recording medium after recording the writeenable information in it.

Therefore, by using such a data recording system it is possible even fora familiar with operating a PC to prepare backups, etc., by recordingeasily the image data obtained using a digital camera or a mobiletelephone with camera in a different information recording medium, andto maintain the digital camera and mobile telephone with camera alwaysin a state in which they can record image data. Because of this, it ispossible to promote the taking of photographs by the customers and toenlarge the use of photo services associated with image data.

1. A data recording program to control a computer to function as a datarecording terminal, comprising: an extracting section to extract a writeenable information which shows permitting the writing of data from aninformation recording medium; and a data writing section to permitwriting data to the information recording medium with which the writeenable information was recorded.
 2. A data recording program to controla computer to function as a data recording terminal, comprising: a writedisable information extracting section to extract a write disableinformation which shows prohibiting the writing of data from aninformation recording medium; a write disable release informationextracting section to extract a write disable release information whichshows to release the prohibit on writing of data from the informationrecording medium; and a data writing section to prohibit writing data tothe information recording medium with which the write disableinformation was recorded, and to permit writing data to the informationrecording medium with which the write disable release information wasrecorded.
 3. An information recording medium comprising: a write disableinformation including information which prohibit the writing of data;and a write enable information including information which permit thewriting of data.
 4. An information recording medium comprising: a writedisable information including information which prohibit the writing ofdata; and a write disable release information including informationwhich release the prohibiting of writing of data.
 5. A data recordingterminal record the data recorded in an equipment or in a firstinformation recording medium into a second information recording medium,comprising: a reading out section to read out the data from either theequipment or the first information recording medium; a extractingsection to extract a write enable information which shows permitting thewriting of data from the second information recording medium; a datawriting section to permit writing data to the second informationrecording medium with which the write enable information was recorded.6. A data recording terminal record the data recorded in an equipment orin a first information recording medium into a second informationrecording medium, comprising: a reading out section to read out the datafrom either the equipment or the first information recording medium; awrite disable information extracting section to extract a write disableinformation which shows prohibiting the writing of data from the secondinformation recording medium; a write disable release informationextracting section to extract a write disable release information whichshows to release the prohibit on writing of data from the secondinformation recording medium; and a data writing section to prohibitwriting data to the second information recording medium with which thewrite disable information was recorded, and to permit writing data tothe second information recording medium with which the write disablerelease information was recorded.
 7. The data recording terminal ofclaim 5, wherein the equipment is a digital camera or a mobile telephonewith camera, the first recording medium is an information recordingmedium which can be detached and attached to apparatus, and the data isimage data of photographs taken using the equipment.
 8. A data recordingsystem comprising: a write enable information recording section torecord a write enable information which shows permitting the writing ofdata to an information recording medium; and a data writing section topermit writing data to the information recording medium with which thewrite enable information was recorded.
 9. A data recording systemcomprising: an information recording medium having a write disableinformation which shows prohibiting the writing of data; a write disablerelease information recording section to record a write disable releaseinformation which shows to release the prohibit on writing of data tothe information recording medium; and a data writing section to prohibitwriting data to the information recording medium with which the writedisable information was recorded, and to permit writing data to theinformation recording medium with which the write disable releaseinformation was recorded.
 10. The data recording system of claim 8,further comprising: a exhibiting section to exhibit an informationrecording medium on shop selves; an information recording terminal torecord at least one of the write enable information and a write disablerelease information to the information recording medium; and a datarecording terminal having the data writing section.
 11. A data recordingmethod which record the data recorded in an equipment or in a firstinformation recording medium into a second information recording medium,comprising steps of: recording a write enable information which showspermitting the writing of data to the second information recordingmedium; extracting the write enable information from the secondinformation recording medium, in a data recording terminal; reading thedata recorded in the equipment or in the first information recordingmedium when the write enable information is recorded on the secondinformation recording medium; and writing the read data in the secondinformation recording medium.
 12. A data recording method which recordthe data recorded in an equipment or in a first information recordingmedium into a second information recording medium, comprising steps of:exhibiting a information recording medium with which a write disableinformation was recorded, wherein the write disable informationincluding information which prohibit the writing of data; recording thewrite disable release information which shows that the prohibit on thewriting of the data based on the write disable information was releasedto the second information recording medium; extracting the write disableinformation from the second information recording medium, in a datarecording terminal; extracting the write disable release informationfrom the second information recording medium, in a data recordingterminal; prohibiting the writing of data when the write disableinformation is recorded on the second information recording medium;permitting the writing of data when the write disable releaseinformation is recorded on the second information recording; reading thedata recorded in the equipment or in the first information recordingmedium based on judgment of prohibition or permission; writing the readdata in the second information recording medium.
 13. The data recordingmethod of claim 11, wherein the equipment is a digital camera or amobile telephone with camera, the first recording medium is aninformation recording medium which can be detached and attached toapparatus, and the data is image data of photographs taken using theequipment.